


One Dalmatian

by MilkTeaMiku



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:47:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9981389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkTeaMiku/pseuds/MilkTeaMiku
Summary: Shiro suddenly finds himself taking care of Rover while Matt is away. With a cute (gorgeous, stunning, beautiful) neighbour who  happens to foster dogs, he figures that starting a conversation might not be so difficult anymore.Of course, things never really work out the way he expects them to.





	

“Matt, I can’t take care of a dog. You know I’ve never had one before.”

“Honestly Shiro, Rover isn’t that much of a handful. You just need to feed him and walk him, I swear. That’s all there is to it. He doesn’t even bark, and he’s completely house trained. Plus he knows you! He’ll be fine with you.”

 _“Matt,_ do not leave your dog here.”

“I’ve got to go, Shiro!”

“Pidge will kill me if it dies!”

“He’ll be fine, he’ll be fine,” Matt grinned broadly, and slapped Rover’s red leash into Shiro’s palm. “I have full faith in you, buddy. Don’t stress about it so much! Besides, you can always ask Allura for help, right? She’s got like, five dogs. Maybe six, even.”

Shiro groaned, and covered his face with his hands. Matt knew what Allura did to him, and by the time Shiro had regained his sanity, Matt was already waving goodbye. His dog, a big German Shepard named Rover, sat obediently at Shiro’s feet, tongue lolling out. It was like he didn’t know of his impending doom.

“Guess it’s just you and me, huh?” Shiro sighed as he pulled on Rover’s leash a little, guiding the dog inside. “Matt so owes me for this.”

Technically, he was allowed to have dogs in his apartment, and he doubted he’d accidentally kill the dog in the three days his owners would be away. It was just that Shiro had never taken care of a dog before, and he would be devastated if something happened. What if Rover got loose and ran onto the road, or another dog attacked him? Pidge would most certainly never talk to him again if the beloved dog got injured while they were away. What if Rover got bitten by a dangerous tick, or ate something poisonous? He was pretty sure that the apartment complex’s owner liked to leave snail bait in their yards without realising it was no good for overzealous dogs. Shiro didn’t even know the name of the local vet.

But there was Allura. 

She was his attractive (very attractive, very kind, _very perfect)_ neighbour who happened to frequently foster shelter dogs. She had one of her own, an energetic Dalmatian she called Altea, who had tackled Shiro to the floor the first day he’d moved in. He swore Allura had looked just like an angel when she’d rushed over to help him up, apologising furiously on behalf of her beloved dog. _Altea hasn’t even done that before,_ she’d said as she’d helped him stand again, _he must really like you._

She’d bought him coffee to make up for it and they’d exchanged numbers before going on their way. They talked as much as any friendly neighbours did, and she always gave him a dazzling smile when he passed her in the corridor. That smile of hers made him weak at the knees every single time, made his heart start to race like nothing else ever had.

He’d fallen for her faster than her dog had knocked him to the floor.

Maybe Rover would be a good conversation starter. He knew just enough about the dog to be interesting, but not enough that he couldn’t use some helpful tips. He also knew Allura always walked her dogs around the local park in the evenings after work, so after giving Rover a considerate look, he went to get his shoes. He could definitely manage a walk with the dog… though the thought of seeing Allura was definitely good motivation. 

The park was a pretty nice place. He didn’t go often, but maybe he would now. There were winding pathways interspersed with manmade fountains, picnic benches and even a small pond where one could often find ducks floating about. Brightly coloured foliage could be seen in every corner, and there were always birds flittering around in the trees. People frequently walked their dogs there, Allura included. That evening, he took Rover around the park circuit.

For what it was worth, he didn’t mind walking the dog. Rover was surprisingly tame, and never pulled on the leash. He didn’t respond to other dog’s yapping and walked on the same side Shiro held him on, even when the path dipped away into dirt. Shiro worried about him getting thirsty, but even after the second time around the park he wasn’t panting. He seemed content to sniff along at his own pace, and never rushed.

Maybe taking care of him wouldn’t be so bad after all.

He didn’t see Allura at the park, though. Shiro didn’t want to say he was disappointed, because he did enjoy walking Rover, but he would have liked to see his pretty neighbour, too. When he was just turning around to leave, a voice suddenly called out to him.

“Shiro!”

He startled, and turned to give Allura a flushed look. It was like she knew he was thinking about her. “Hey,” he said.

Allura grinned as she jogged over, Altea faithfully trotting by her side. “Is he yours? I didn’t know you had a dog!”

“I’m just dog-sitting,” Shiro laughed quietly, and used his left hand to pet Rover’s head. “This is Matt’s dog.”

“Oh! Rover is his name, right?”

Shiro nodded. Allura was friends with Pidge, Matt’s younger brother, so it wasn’t surprising she’d heard of Rover. He watched Rover curiously nose at Altea for a moment, before he seemed to lose interest, and returned to sitting by Shiro. It almost made Shiro laugh. He never thought a dog could be so laid-back, but he was kind of relieved that Rover was.

“Are you finished walking him now?” Allura asked, peering up at him with those big blue eyes of hers. “Or do you want to join Altea and I?”

He glanced at Rover, and after seeing that Rover wasn’t tired, he nodded. “I’d love to.”

Allura grinned again, and cheerfully linked their elbows. “Perfect! Let’s go now, then.”

He flushed, but nodded. Allura’s skin was warm against his arm, and he was faintly relieved that she hadn’t gone to touch his prosthetic. He felt distant from it, even though he’d had it for years. It was like she knew that, too. 

After shuffling Rover’s leash in his hands so that the dogs wouldn’t get tangled, they were on their way.

“You should join me more often,” Allura said. “I have more than enough dogs to go around for when Rover goes home, you know.”

He laughed again as his nervousness slowly eased. “But only one Dalmatian today?”

“Just one Dalmatian,” she laughed too. “Altea has far too much energy! I can’t skip a single walk with him.”

True to form, Altea was bounding along beside Allura, his paws hardly touching the ground. Although he kept pace with them, it was almost like he was skipping. He didn’t tug on Allura’s arm too much, though. 

For a short while, they walked in relative peace. Allura chatted animatedly about a variety of things – her day, her dogs, Shiro’s day, what she wanted to do with her balcony garden – and Shiro listened attentively. Every word she spoke soothed some anxious part of him he’d never realised had been tense. He couldn’t help but watch her fondly, so much so that he had no awareness for where they were going at all.

Allura was too beautiful for words.

Suddenly, Altea shot out ahead of them, barking. Allura jerked forwards, and let out a surprise noise as Altea cut straight across the path they were walking. Rover barked once, startled by the Dalmatian’s movements, and ducked behind Shiro’s legs to avoid him. Their leashes got tangled together, and then Allura was abruptly tipping over, her feet swept out from under her.

Shiro let out a groan as they toppled to the ground. It didn’t really hurt, but Allura landed squarely on him, and that was more than enough to send his mind spiralling. They were suddenly so close. Loose strands of her hair were tickling his face and he could feel her knees bumping against his, their legs tied together by the tangled leashes.

He’d never turned red quite so quickly in his entire life.

“I’m sorry!” Shiro said, as he tried to sit them both upright. “Rover’s leash must have knocked us over-”

“It’s only because Altea pulled too hard,” Allura was quick to say. Her cheeks were flushed red too, and she was looking at him from underneath her lashes like she didn’t quite know what to do. It was _adorable._

He was suddenly very aware of how her hands were pressed against this chest, fingers splayed wide. Would she be able to feel how hard his heart was beating? “Are you alright?” He asked quietly.

She nodded. After a moment, she reached back to tug Altea’s leash back, and slowly the tangle unravelled. Altea’s attention had moved away from whatever had distracted him, and he was calm again. 

When Allura sat up, she shyly offered him her hand, so he took it, and climbed to his feet. Her hand kept him steady as he brushed dirt off of his pants. “You’re not hurt, are you?” She asked.

He shook his head, and gave her a quick once over, just to double check that she was alright. “Ah,” he said, absentmindedly lifting a hand to touch the side of her head, “you have leaves in your hair…”

He’d never seen her as red as she was then, when he pulled an orange leaf from her messy locks. “At least I have you with me, huh?” She said with a small, embarrassed laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. 

It was ridiculously cute. _She_ was ridiculously cute. How was he meant to function when she was giving him that shy, charming look of hers? He’d never seen eyes that blue. “Want to continue our walk?” He asked, as he offered her his hand.

Although he expected her to take his elbow like she had before, she gave him a rather cheeky grin, and linked their fingers instead. “Of course!”

He was suddenly quite glad that Matt had forced him to take care of Rover. He’d have to thank Matt properly when he returned. But for now, he put thoughts of his friend out of his mind, and smiled at Allura instead. Or specifically, how good her hand felt in his, and how happy her attention made him. To think that he was finally talking to the girl he’d liked because of a dog he was scared to take care of… he was sure he’d laugh about it in the future. 

Matt was probably already laughing, come to think of it. Shiro really would have to thank him.

Accident or otherwise, he’d never been happier to fall in his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in my drafts for a while, so I decided to finally edit and post it ^^


End file.
